Method of using biopolymer to synthesize titanium-containing silicon oxide material and applications thereof

ABSTRACT

A method of using biopolymer to synthesize titanium-containing silicon oxide material and applications includes mixing a titanium source, a silicon source, an acid source, a base source, a biopolymer and a solvent to form an aqueous solution, and letting the aqueous solution react to form a semi-product; performing aging, solid-liquid separation and drying of the semi-product to obtain a dried solid; and performing calcination or extraction of the dried solid to obtain a titanium-containing silicon oxide material with a high specific surface area. The present invention adopts a biopolymer as the templating agent, which makes the fabrication process of titanium-containing silicon oxide material more environment-friendly. After calcination or extraction, the product still has superior catalytic activity, able to catalyze epoxidation of olefins and favorable for the production of epoxide.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Divisional of co-pending Application No.16/361,693, filed on Mar. 22, 2019, for which priority is claimed under35 U.S.C. § 120, the entire contents of all of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The preset invention relates to a method of using a template method tosynthesize titanium-containing silicon oxide material and applicationsthereof, particularly to a method of using biopolymer as the templateagent to synthesize titanium-containing silicon oxide material and usingthe titanium-containing silicon oxide material as a catalyst to directlyoxidize olefins into epoxides.

Description of the Related Art

The titanium-containing silicon oxide materials usually have porousstructures with high-specific surface area, favorable to function asabsorptive agents, catalysts, and catalyst carriers. At present, thesynthesis of titanium-containing materials is often realized byhydrothermal processes using surfactants as template agents. It is themost well-known example among them: a positively-charged quaternaryammonium salt surfactant is used as the template agent. U.S. Pat. Nos.7,018,950, 688,782 and 6,512,128 all disclosed the methods forfabricating titanium-containing silicon oxide catalysts, comprisingsteps: dissolving a silicon source, a titanium source and a quaternaryammonium salt (functioning as a template agent) in a solvent andagitating them to obtain a solid containing a catalyst and a templateagent; and removing the templating agent to obtain a titanium-containingsilicon oxide catalyst with a special pore diameters, a pore diameterdistribution and a special specific volume ratio. In the template methodfor fabricating titanium-containing silicon oxide material, titanium isintroduced into the silicon dioxide material with a high specificsurface area to diversify the catalytic activity of the material. In thefabrication process, the templating agent generates micelles, and theadded silicon compound aggregates around the micelles and forms siliconoxide substrates on the micelles. The templating agent (i.e. thesurfactant) may be removed by a high-temperature calcination process oran extraction process, whereby is created a material having porousstructures whose size and shape is similar to that of the templatingagent. The advantages of the fabrication process are that the porevolume of the resultant material can be controlled via modifying thesize of the molecules of the templating agent and that the pore size canbe controlled via modifying the size of the micelles of the templateagent. However, the surfactant, which functions as the template agent,is expensive and likely to generate toxicity and pollute theenvironment.

In order to overcome the abovementioned problems, the applicant of thepresent invention has developed a low-cost non-toxic green material asthe templating agent for fabricating titanium-containing silicon oxidematerial to reduce pollution to the environment. Further, thetitanium-containing silicon oxide material fabricated by the presentinvention has high catalytic activity in epoxidation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a method ofusing biopolymer to synthesize titanium-containing silicon oxidematerial and applications thereof, wherein an aqueous solution, which isformulated with a titanium source, a silicon source, an acid source anda base source, a biopolymer and a solvent, is aged, filtered, dried,calcined (or extracted) to obtain a titanium-containing silicon oxidematerial with a high-specific surface area and a high catalyticactivity, which may function as a catalyst to catalyze epoxidation ofolefins and generate epoxides.

In order to achieve the abovementioned objective, the present inventionproposes a method for fabricating titanium-containing silicon oxidematerial, wherein an aqueous solution, which is formulated with atitanium source, a silicon source, an acid source and a base source, abiopolymer, and a solvent, is agitated uniformly; next, the aqueoussolution is kept at a temperature ranging from −20 to 200° C. andagitated persistently for 0.5-5 hours; next, the aqueous solution isaged at a temperature ranging from 60-200° C. for 6-48 hours; next, asolid-liquid separation process is undertaken; next, the solid obtainedin the solid-liquid separation process is dried; next, a calcinationprocess or an extraction process of the dried solid is undertaken toobtain a titanium-containing silicon oxide material with a high specificsurface area.

The titanium-containing silicon oxide material fabricated by the presentinvention meets the following conditions:

-   1. The average diameter of the pores of the titanium-containing    silicon oxide material is greater than 10 Å;-   2. The pores with diameters ranging from 5-200 Å have a volume of    more than 90% of the total pore volume.-   3. The titanium-containing silicon oxide material has a specific    pore volume greater than 0.2 cm³/g.

In the method of the present invention, the titanium source may besourced from titanates, inorganic titanium sources, or combinationsthereof. The silicon source may be amorphous silicon dioxide,alkoxysilanes, silicates, or combinations thereof. The acid source maybe sourced from any material able to lower the pH value of the system,such as organic acids, inorganic acids, or combinations thereof. Thebase source may be sourced from any material able to increase the pHvalue of the system, such as organic bases, inorganic bases, organicmolecules whose counter ions are anions with hydroxyl groups, orcombinations thereof. The biopolymers may be sourced from the polymersgenerated by organisms. The solvent may be sourced from alcoholsolvents. The extracting agent used in the extraction process may besourced from aqueous solutions of solvents and acid sources.

The present invention also proposes a method for fabricating epoxide,wherein the titanium-containing silicon oxide, which is fabricated bythe abovementioned method of the present invention, is used as thecatalyst to enable the reaction of the olefins and oxides and generateepoxides.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a silylation method is usedto increase the catalytic activity of the catalyst before the catalyticreaction.

In the abovementioned methods, the quantity of the used catalyst is notstrictly limited as long as the quantity of the used catalyst issufficient to enable the epoxidation reaction to be completed in theshortest time. The molar ratio of the olefin to the oxide, which is usedin the reaction, is 1:100-100:1, preferably 1:10-10:1. The reactiontemperature is not particularly limited, normally 0-200° C., preferably25-150° C. The reaction pressure is not particularly limited as long asthe pressure is higher than a pressure able to keep the reactants in theliquid state, preferably 1-100 atm. The reaction time is 1 minute-48hours, preferably 5 minutes-8 hours. The methods of the presentinvention are applicable to any reactor or device. For example, themethods of the present invention may be applied to a fixed bed reactor,a conveyor reactor, a fluidized bed reactor, a slurry agitation reactor,or a continuous stirred-tank reactor in a batch way, a continuous way,or a semi-continuous way.

The methods of the present invention are simple, low-cost,environment-friendly and thus favorable for industrial application.

Below, embodiments are described in detail to make easily understood theobjectives, technical contents, characteristics, and accomplishments ofthe present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a flowchart of a method of fabricating titanium-containingsilicon oxide material according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of using a titanium-containing silicon oxidematerial fabricated by the present invention can fabricate epoxideaccording to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Refer to FIG. 1 for a flowchart of a method of fabricatingtitanium-containing silicon oxide material according to one embodimentof the present invention. The flowchart includes 5 steps: StepsS100-S140, wherein Steps S100-S120 relates to a method of fabricatingtitanium-containing silicon oxide material; Step S130 and Step S140 aretwo steps that may be used in the fabrication process where thetitanium-containing silicon oxide material with a high specific surfacearea is involved. In practical application, a single fabrication processmay adopt one or more of Step S130 and Step S140. However, the two stepsare presented on the single flowchart simultaneously for conciseness,wherein dashed-line frames are used to indicate that these steps areoptional.

In Step S100, formulate a titanium source, a silicon source, an acidsource and a base source, a biopolymer, and a solvent into an aqueoussolution, and agitate the aqueous solution uniformly. In Step S110,place the aqueous solution at a temperature of −20-100° C. for reaction,and agitate the aqueous solution persistently for 0.5-5 hours; next, agethe reactants at a temperature of 60-200° C. for 6-48 hours; next,undertake a solid-liquid separation process to separate the solid fromthe reaction solution; next, dry the solids separated in thesolid-liquid separation process at a temperature of 30-120° C. for 0.5-6hours persistently. In Step S120, calcine the dried solid to obtain atitanium-containing silicon oxide material with a high specific surfacearea; alternatively, use the mixed aqueous of a solvent and an acidsource as an extracting agent to undertake an extraction process of thedried solid to obtain a titanium-containing silicon oxide material witha high specific surface area.

The titanium-containing silicon oxide material fabricated by the presentinvention meets the following conditions:

1. The average diameter of the pores of the titanium-containing siliconoxide material is greater than 10 Å;

2. The pores with diameters ranging from 5-200 Å have a volume of morethan 90% of the total pore volume.

3. The titanium-containing silicon oxide material has a specific porevolume greater than 0.2 cm³/g.

The titanium sources used by the present invention include but are notlimited to be titanates, inorganic titanium sources, and combinationsthereof. In details, the titanate may be selected from a group includingtetramethyl titanate, tetraethyl titanate, tetra n-propyl titanate,tetra iso-propyl titanate, tetra n-butyl titanate, tetra sec-butyltitanate, tetra iso-butyl titanate, tetra tert-butyl titanate, tetra(2-ethyl-1-hexanol) titanate, tetra n-octadecane titanate andcombinations thereof. The inorganic titanium sources may be titaniumhalides, titanium sulfate, or combinations thereof. The titanium halidesmay be selected from a group including titanium trichloride, titaniumtetrachloride, titanium tribromide, titanium tetrabromide, titaniumtriiodide, and titanium tetraiodide. The abovementioned titanium sourcesmay be used singly, or several thereof are used jointly.

The silicon sources used by the present invention include but are notlimited to be amorphous silicon dioxide, alkoxysilanes, silicates, andcombinations thereof. In details, the amorphous silicon dioxide has ageneral formula: SiO₂. The amorphous silicon dioxide may be but is notlimited to be sourced from powder materials or bulky materials ofsilicon dioxide. The amorphous silicon dioxide may be but is not limitedto be silica fume, white carbon, silica gel, or silica sol. Thealkoxysilanes may be silanes containing 4 alkoxy groups, includingtetramethylorthosilicate, tetraethylorthosilicate,tetrapropylorthosilicate, and the likes. The alkoxysilanes containingdifferent functional groups may also be used as the silicon sources,including alkyltrialkoxysilanes, dialkyldialkoxysilanes,trialkylmonoalkoxysilanes, and the likes. The silicates may be but arenot limited to be sodium silicate, potassium silicate, magnesiumsilicate, calcium silicate, and the likes. The abovementioned siliconsources may be used singly, or several thereof are used jointly.

The acid sources used by the present invention include but are notlimited to be organic acids, inorganic acids, and any material able todecrease the pH value of the system. In details, the organic acids maybe materials containing carboxyl groups or sulfonic acid groups. Theorganic acid sources may be selected from a group including formic acid,acetic acid, propionic acid, sulfonic acid, sulfinic acid,thionocarboxylic acids, citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, oxalicacid, succinic acid, lactic acid, and the likes. The inorganic acids maybe materials releasing hydrogen ions and conjugate basic ions. Theinorganic acids may be selected from a group including hydrochloricacid, hypochlorous acid, chlorous acid, chloric acid, perchloric acid,nitric acid, hydrazoic acid, hyponitrous acid, nitroxyl, nitrous acid,peroxynitric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen disulfide,thiosulfuric acid, sulfoxylic acid, persulfuric acid, phosphoric acid,hypophosphorous acid, phosphorous acid, metaphosphoric acid,metaphosphorous acid, diphosphonic acid, hypophosphoric acid,pyrophosphoric acid, boric acid, metaboric acid, tetraboric acid,fluoroboric acid, peroxyboric acid, carbonic acid, hydrocyanic acid,cyanic acid, fulminic acid, isocyanic acid, thiocyanic acid,isothiocyanic acid, selenocyanic acid, trithiocarbonic acid, hydrogenperoxide, hydrofluoric acid, hypofluorous acid, bromic acid, hydrobromicacid, chromic acid, dichromic acid, permanganic acid, and the likes. Theabovementioned acid sources may be used singly, or several thereof areused jointly.

The base sources used by the present invention include but are notlimited to be organic bases, inorganic bases, organic molecules whosecounter ions are anions with hydroxyl groups, and any material able toincrease the pH value of the system. In details, the organic bases maybe alcohols containing alkali metals, organic metal compounds, ororganic materials containing nitrogen. The organic bases may be selectedfrom a group including sodium methoxide, potassium ethoxide, potassiumtert-butoxide, butyllithium, phenyllithium, lithium diisopropylamide,lithium hexamethyldisilazide, pyridine, imidazole, benzimidazole,histidine, and the likes. The organic bases may be hydroxides containingmetal ions or carbonates containing metal ions. The inorganic bases maybe selected from a group including lithium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide,potassium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, strontiumhydroxide, barium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, ammonium hydroxide,zinc hydroxide, copper hydroxide, nickel hydroxide, chromium hydroxide,sodium carbonate, sodium hydrogen carbonate, potassium carbonate,potassium hydrogen carbonate, and the likes. The organic molecules whosecounter ions are anions with hydroxyl groups may betrimethyloctadecylammonium hydroxide, cetyltrimethylammonium hydroxide,dodecyl trimethyl ammonium hydroxide, and the likes. The abovementionedbase sources may be used singly, or several thereof are used jointly.

The biopolymers used by the present invention are polymers generated byorganisms. The biopolymers may be selected from a group includingchitosan, collagen, gelatin, agarose, chitin, polyhydroxyalkanoates,pullulan, starch, cellulose, hyaluronic acid, and the likes, wherein thestarch includes amylose and amylopectin. The abovementioned biopolymersmay be used singly, or several thereof are used jointly.

The solvents used by the present invention include but are not limitedto be alcohol solvents. In details, the alcohol solvents are alcoholscontaining 1-10 carbon atoms. The alcohol solvents may be selected froma group including methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, isopropanol, vinylbutanol, allyl butanol, n-butanol, sec-butyl alcohol, tert-butylalcohol, pentanol, cyclohexanol, benzyl alcohol, and diol compounds. Theabovementioned solvents may be used singly, or several thereof are usedjointly.

The molar ratio of the titanium source to the silicon source in theaqueous solution is 0.00001-0.5, preferably 0.0001-0.1. The weight ratioof the biopolymer to the silicon source is 0.005-5. The molar ratio ofthe acid source to the silicon source is 0.01-6, preferably 0.1-3. Themolar ratio of the base source to the silicon source is 0.01-6,preferably 0.1-3. The weight ratio of the biopolymer to water is0.0001-1. The weight ratio of the solvent to water is 0-5, preferably0.01-3. The temperature of calcination is 300-800° C., preferably450-750° C. The time of calcination is 1-9 hours, preferably 3-6 hours.The ratio of the weights of the solvent, the acid source and water inthe extracting agent is 3-10:0.01-5:0-10, preferably 5-8:0.05-3:0-3. Thetemperature of extraction is 25-150° C., preferably 40-90° C. The timeof extraction is 0.5-6 hours, preferably 1-3 hours. The weight ratio ofthe extracting agent to the dried solid is 1000-10.

The titanium-containing silicon oxide material may function as acatalyst. Before undertaking catalyzation, the catalyst may be silylatedto decrease the number of silanol groups, as in Step S130. Thereby isdecreased the intrinsic acidity of the catalyst, improved the surfacecharacteristic of the catalyst, and enhanced the catalytic activity ofthe catalyst.

The silylation treatment may be performed in a gas phase method or aliquid phase method. In the gas phase method, the titanium-containingsilicon oxide material reacts with a gas-phase silylation agent. In theliquid phase method, the titanium-containing silicon oxide materialreacts with a liquid-phase silylation agent. The silylation treatmentmay be performed according to an ordinary method, using one or morekinds of organic silanes. The organic silanes for silylation may behalogenosilanes (the general formula thereof is R¹R²R³SiX), silazanes(the general formula thereof is [R⁴R⁵R⁶Si]₂NH), methylsilyllimidazoles(the general formula thereof is R⁷R⁸R⁹Si[N₂C₃H₃]), or methylsilyllamines(the general formula thereof is (R¹⁰)₃SiN(R¹¹)₂), wherein R¹, R² and R³are identical or different and may be respectively a saturated alkylgroup containing 1-6 carbon atoms, and a saturated phenyl group, andwherein R⁴, R⁵, and R⁶ are identical or different and may berespectively an alkyl group containing 1-6 carbon atom, a haloalkylgroup containing 1-6 carbon atoms, and a phenyl group, and whereinR⁷-R¹¹ are respectively saturated alkyl groups containing 1-3 carbonatoms. The preferred organic silane is hexamethyldisilazane,methylsilyllamine, trimethylchlorosilane, N-trimethylformamimidazole, ora combination thereof. The solvent used in silylation may be one or morekinds of aromatic hydrocarbons containing 6-16 carbon atoms, or one ormore kinds of alkanes containing 6-16 carbon atoms. The preferredsolvent is toluene, benzene, isopropylbenzene-cyclohexane, or acombination thereof.

In silylation, the weight ratio of the organic silane to thetitanium-containing silicon oxide material is 0.01-1, preferably0.1-0.8; the weight ratio of the solvent to the titanium-containingsilicon oxide material is 1-200, preferably 1-100; the reactiontemperature of silylation is 25-200° C., preferably 50-150° C.; thereaction temperature is 0.5-3 hours, preferably 1-2 hours.

The present invention also has an alternative step (Step S140), whereintransition metals are merged into the titanium-containing silicon oxidematerial to enhance the catalytic activity of the material.

According to the requirement, transition metals may be merged into thetitanium-containing silicon oxide material in an impregnation method, adeposition method, a blending method, or a like method. In theimpregnation method, a solution of transition metals is dispersed in asuitable solvent to form a mixed solution; the mixed solution is furthermixed with the titanium-containing silicon oxide material to form atitanium-containing silicon oxide material impregnated with transitionmetals; the titanium-containing silicon oxide material impregnated withtransition metals is further dried or calcined according to requirement,wherein the concentration of the transition metals in thetitanium-containing silicon oxide material is 0.001-10 wt. %, preferably0.005-5 wt. %. In the titanium-containing silicon oxide materialimpregnated with transition metals, transition metals are inside oroutside the skeletons of the titanium-containing silicon oxide material.

In the present invention, the titanium-containing silicon oxide materialmay be granulated before calcination, after calcination, beforeextraction, after extraction, before silylation, after silylation, . . ., in any stage of the process. The granulation may be undertaken in asuitable process, such as the compression molding process or theextrusion molding process, to fabricate the titanium-containing siliconoxide material into granules having a specified range of diameters.

Because of having a high specific surface area and highly-dispersedactive-titanium sites, the titanium-containing silicon oxide materialfabricated by the present invention can be used as a catalyst foroxidation or selective oxidation of organic compounds. If a third groupof components (such as aluminum, etc.) is added to thetitanium-containing silicon oxide material fabricated by the presentinvention to promote the acidic positions, the titanium-containingsilicon oxide material can be used to catalyze alkylation, reforming,etc.

The titanium-containing silicon oxide material fabricated by the presentinvention can be used to fabricate epoxide. Refer to FIG. 2 for aflowchart of using the titanium-containing silicon oxide materialfabricated by the present invention to fabricate epoxide. The flowchartincludes three steps: Steps S200-S220. Step S220 describes a method forfabricating an epoxide. Step S200 and Step S210 are two steps that maybe added to the process of fabricating epoxide, used to enhance thecatalytic activity of the catalyst. In practical application, a singlefabrication process may adopt one or more of Step S200 and Step S210.However, the two steps are presented on the single flowchartsimultaneously for conciseness, wherein dashed-line frames are used toindicate that these steps are optional.

In Step S200 and Step S210, before catalytic reaction, the catalyticactivity can be enhanced via silylation and/or merging transition metalsinto the titanium-containing silicon oxide material. The other detailsof these steps are similar to those of Step S130 and Step S140 and willnot repeat herein. The granulation treatment may also be adopted herein.

In Step S220, the titanium-containing silicon oxide material fabricatedby the present invention is used as a catalyst to catalyze the reactionof olefins and oxides to form epoxides.

The titanium-containing silicon oxide material used in theabovementioned epoxidation may be fabricated into the form of powder,lumps, microbeads, or a single bulk via extrusion-molding,compression-molding, or another method. The olefins used in theepoxidation may be but are not limited to be aliphatic compounds andcyclic compounds (including monocyclic compounds, bicyclic compounds,and polycyclic compounds). The olefins may be mono-olefins, di-olefins,and poly-olefins. While the olefin has more than two double bonds, thedouble bonds may be conjugated double bonds or non-conjugated doublebonds. The mono-olefins may be but are not limited to be olefinscontaining 2-60 carbon atoms. The olefin may have a substituent,preferably a substituent stable relatively. The mono-olefins may be butare not limited to be ethylene, propylene, 1-butylene, isobutylene,1-hexene, 2-hexene, 3-hexene, 1-octene, 1-decene, styrene, orcyclohexene. The di-olefins may be but are not limited to be butadieneor isoprene.

The oxides used in the epoxidation may be organic peroxides having ageneral formula: R—O—O—H, wherein R denotes a hydrocarbon group. Thehydrocarbon group is a group containing 3-20 carbon atoms, preferably3-10 carbon atoms. The hydrocarbon group may be but are not limited tobe a secondary alkyl group, a tertiary alkyl group, or an aryl alkylgroup, such as tertiary butyl, tertiary pentyl, cyclopentane, and2-phenyl-2-propyl. The organic peroxide may be but is not limited to beethylbenzene hydroperoxide, cumene hydroperoxide, tert-butylhydroperoxide, or cyclohexyl hydroperoxide. While the hydroperoxide iscumene hydroperoxide, the product of the reaction is alpha-cumylalcohol. Via dehydration, alpha-cumyl alcohol is converted intoalpha-methyl styrene, which has many applications in industry. Viahydrogenation, alpha-methyl styrene is converted into cumene. Viaoxidization, cumene is converted into cumene hydroperoxide. The otherorganic peroxides also have the same recycling characteristic and thuscan be used repeatedly.

The oxide used in the epoxidation may be hydrogen peroxide having ageneral formula: H—O—O—H. Hydrogen peroxide can be obtained from theaqueous solution thereof. The reaction of hydrogen peroxide and olefingenerates epoxide and water.

The oxide used as a reactant may be a concentrated or dilutedpure/impure substance.

While epoxidation is undertaken to generate epoxide, a solvent ordiluent may be added to let the reaction be undertaken in a liquidstate. The solvent or diluent is in the form of a liquid and inert toall the reactants and products in the epoxidation reaction. The solventmay be but is not limited to be methanol, acetone, ethylbenzene, cumene,isobutene, cyclohexane, or a combination thereof. The abovementionedsolvent is a material that may exist in the oxide solution ready foruse. For example, while the mixed solution of cumene hydroperoxide andcumene is used as the oxide source, cumene may function as the solventrequired by the epoxidation reaction. In such a case, the addition ofanother type of solvent is unnecessary.

In the abovementioned methods, the amount of the used catalyst is notstrictly limited as long as the epoxidation reaction can be completed inthe shortest time. The molar ratio of the olefin to the oxide is1:100-100:1, preferably 1:10-10:1. The reaction temperature is notstrictly limited, normally 0-200° C., preferably 25-150° C. The reactionpressure is not strictly limited as long as the pressure is sufficientto keep all the reactants in a liquid state. The reaction pressure ispreferably 1-100 atm. The reaction time is the time able to achieve thehighest yield of epoxide, normally 1 minute-48 hours, preferably 5minutes-8 hours. The methods of the present invention may be applied toa fixed bed reactor, a conveyor reactor, a fluidized bed reactor, aslurry agitation reactor, or a continuous stirred-tank reactor in abatch way, a continuous way, or a semi-continuous way.

Below, several embodiments are used to further demonstrate how thetitanium-containing silicon oxide material is effectively fabricated bythe present invention and how the material is used as a catalyst tocatalyze the epoxidation reaction of olefin and oxide to generateepoxide.

Embodiment I

Fabrication of titanium-containing silicon oxide material: Add 2.9 kgammonia water (28%) to a first mixture liquid containing 0.26 kgtetraisopropyl orthotitanate, 3.6 kg sodium silicate, 0.54 kg gelatin,2.7 kg sulfuric acid (98%), 3 kg isopropanol, and 45 kg water to form asecond mixture liquid; agitate the second mixture liquid at an ambienttemperature for 2 hours to form a first semi-product; age the firstsemi-product at a temperature of 100° C. persistently for 16 hours togenerate a second semi-product; filter the second semi-product to removethe solution thereof and obtain a powder; dry the powder at atemperature of 70° C.; heat the dried powder to a temperature of 550° C.at a temperature rising rate of 5° C./min and calcine the dried powderat the temperature of 750° C. persistently for 6 hours; let the powdercool down naturally and thus obtain a titanium-containing silicon oxidematerial with a high specific surface area. In this embodiment, morethan 97% organic compounds are removed in the calcination process.

Embodiment II

Fabrication of titanium-containing silicon oxide material: Thefabrication process is basically the same as that in Embodiment I exceptthe calcination process is replaced by an extraction process. Use 10 kgsulfuric acid, 70 kg ethanol, and 20 kg water to prepare an extractingliquid. Agitate the mixture liquid containing 100 kg of the extractingliquid and 1 kg of the dried powder, which is acquired after the aging,filtering and drying processes, at a temperature of 80° C. for 2 hoursto form a semi-product. Next, filter the semi-product. Next, furtherrepeat the extraction process twice. Next, remove the solution to obtaina powder. Next, dry the powder at a temperature of 70° C. Thus, obtain atitanium-containing silicon oxide material with a high specific surfacearea. In this embodiment, more than 90% organic compounds are removed inthe extraction process.

Embodiment III

Fabrication of propylene epoxide: Use 15 g of the titanium-containingsilicon oxide material fabricated in Embodiment I as the catalyst. Mixuniformly the catalyst, 225 g cumene hydroperoxide solution (25 wt %)(the solvent thereof is cumene), and 125 g propylene in a 1-literhigh-pressure airtight reactor (autoclave), and heat them to enablereaction at a temperature of 95° C. for less than 1.5 hours. The resultsof the reaction are shown in Table.1.

Embodiment IV

Fabrication of titanium-containing silicon oxide material: Thefabrication process is basically the same as that in Embodiment I exceptthe titanium-containing silicon oxide material with a high specificsurface area, which is obtained after the calcination process, issilylated. Mix uniformly 16.5 g of the titanium-containing silicon oxidematerial, 165 g toluene, and 11.2 g hexamethyldisilazane; next, agitatethem at a temperature of 120° C. for 1 hour; next filter and dry theproduct. The titanium-containing silicon oxide material obtained in thisembodiment has a specific surface area of 353 m²/g, a pore volume of0.752 ml/g and an average pore diameter of 5.5 nm.

Fabrication of propylene epoxide: The fabrication process is basicallythe same as that in Embodiment III except the catalyst is replaced bythe titanium-containing silicon oxide material fabricated in EmbodimentIV. The results of the reaction are shown in Table.1.

TABLE 1 Embodiment Embodiment 3 4 Conversion rate of 83 98 cumenehydroperoxide(%) (Note¹) Selectivity of propylene 77 95epoxide(%)(Note²) Note¹: Conversion rate of cumene hydroperoxide =Consumption of cumene hydroperoxide/Addition of cumene hydroperoxide ×100% Note²: Selectivity of propylene epoxide = Generation of propyleneepoxide/Consumption of cumene hydroperoxide × 100%

Embodiment I and Embodiment II show that a calcination process or anextraction process can remove the biopolymer from thetitanium-containing silicon oxide material fabricated by the presentinvention—a method of using biopolymer to synthesize titanium-containingsilicon oxide material. According to Table.1, Embodiment III shows thatthe titanium-containing silicon oxide material fabricated by the presentinvention has a superior catalytic activity in catalyzing theepoxidation of olefins; Embodiment IV shows that silylation cansignificantly increase the catalytic activity of the titanium-containingsilicon oxide material fabricated by the present invention in catalyzingthe epoxidation of olefins.

In conclusion, the present invention proposes a method of usingbiopolymer to synthesize titanium-containing silicon oxide material andapplications thereof, wherein the present invention uses anenvironment-friendly biopolymer as a templating agent to fabricate atitanium-containing silicon oxide material with a high specific surfacearea in an ordinary simple template method. The titanium-containingsilicon oxide material fabricated by the present invention has highcatalytic activity, able to function as a catalyst to successfullycatalyze the epoxidation of olefins.

The embodiments described above are only to exemplify the presentinvention but not to limit the scope of the present invention. Anyequivalent modification or variation according to the spirit of thepresent invention is to be also included by the scope of the presentinvention, which is based on the claims stated below.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for fabricating epoxide, comprisingsteps: mixing a titanium source, a silicon source, an acid source, abase source, a biopolymer, and a solvent to form an aqueous solution;letting said aqueous solution react to form a first resultant liquid,aging said first resultant liquid to form a second resultant liquid,performing a solid-liquid separation process on said second resultantliquid, and drying a solid obtained from said solid-liquid separationprocess to obtain a dried solid; performing a calcination process onsaid dried solid to obtain a titanium-containing silicon oxide materialor performing an extraction process on said dried solid with anextracting agent to obtain a titanium-containing silicon oxide material,wherein said titanium-containing silicon oxide material meets followingconditions: pores of said titanium-containing silicon oxide materialhave an average diameter of greater than 10 Å; more than 90% of totalvolume of said pores of said titanium-containing silicon oxide materialhave diameters of 5-200 Å; and said titanium-containing silicon oxidematerial has a specific pore volume of more than 0.2 cm³/g; andproviding said titanium-containing silicon oxide material as a catalystto enable a reaction of an olefin and an oxide to faun an epoxide,wherein said biopolymer is selected from a group consisting of chitosan,collagen, gelatin, agarose, polyhydroxyalkanoates, pullulan, starch,hyaluronic acid, and combinations thereof.
 2. The method for fabricatingepoxide according to claim 1, wherein said olefin is a mono-olefin, adi-olefin or a poly-olefin; said oxide is an organic peroxide orhydrogen peroxide.
 3. The method for fabricating epoxide according toclaim 2, wherein said mono-olefin is selected from a group consisting ofethylene, propylene, 1-butylene, isobutylene, 1-hexene, 2-hexene,3-hexene, 1-octene, 1-decene, styrene, and cyclohexene; said di-olefinis butadiene or isoprene; said organic peroxide is ethylbenzenehydroperoxide, cumene hydroperoxide, tert-butyl hydroperoxide, orcyclohexyl hydroperoxide.
 4. The method for fabricating epoxideaccording to claim 1, wherein a molar ratio of said olefin to said oxideis 1:100-100:1.
 5. The method for fabricating epoxide according to claim4, wherein said molar ratio of said olefin to said oxide is 1:10-10:1.6. The method for fabricating epoxide according to claim 1, wherein areaction temperature of said olefin and said oxide is 0-200° C.; areaction pressure of said olefin and said oxide is not less than apressure able to keep all reactants in a liquid state; a reaction timeof said olefin and said oxide is 1 minute-48 hours.
 7. The method forfabricating epoxide according to claim 6, wherein said reactiontemperature of said olefin and said oxide is 25-150° C.; said reactionpressure of said olefin and said oxide is 1-100 atm; said reaction timeof said olefin and said oxide is 5 minutes-8 hours.